Crafting for Christmas: More Clothes and a House

This post is probably a bit late, but so were the crafts.  The last of my Christmas crafts were finished the night before Christmas Eve, just in time.

First up…

The Fabric House

I made a similar fabric house for Christmas several years ago, in fact I made several of them to give to some lucky kids (see Christmas Operation: Complete and Then Some).  I made them all based on this tutorial.  For this new one I wanted to go a different route.

I made it all using felt because it’s nice and thick and comes in great colors, plus I had a ton of it lying around.

The new owner of the house needed an easy way to close it, so this house was made with Velcro instead of elastic loops like the others.  Plus, it was made slightly wider to accommodate his favorite stuff toys.

Notice the lace added to the roof and along the door and window.  I thought it would add a nice touch, plus the new owner actually likes lace and other interesting textures.

The next and final craft project involves the lovely poinsettia fabric I used for my dress (see Crafting for Christmas: Ornaments, Dresses, and a Printable?).

The Poinsettia Skirt

A simple rectangle skirt with a comfortable elastic waistband.  It’s easy to make and wear, but still has impact thanks to the pretty poinsettia print.  It was made as a gift for a good friend, she absolutely loved it.

In case anyone wants to make one themselves, it’s just made of two pieces. 

The main part is a rectangle.  Length is about twice your hip measurement or a few inches less for a less full skirt.  The width is how long you want the skirt plus a couple of inches.The second piece is the waistband that is as long as your hip measurement plus about four inches and about 2-4 inches wide to fit your elastic through.

Here’s a tutorial I found for a rectangle skirt that should help.  Note that the length measurement in the tutorial is different because it’s a much fuller skirt.

Now that we’re finished with Christmas and the year, it’s time for a little break to catch our breath. 

See you all next year!

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Blue Plaid Revisited, a Dress Makeover

At last, the end of my craft project list has come, with another dress redo.

Almost six years ago, I found a blue plaid “pioneer” looking dress at Goodwill and turned into this pretty dress (see Numbers Game and Perfect Heels). 

Fast forward years later, I started to think that it’s an okay dress but could be better.  I thought that it would look cuter as a jumper, maybe worn with a pretty blouse.

So I started by removing the sleeves and cutting a new neckline.

I used bias tape along the arm holes and neckline.  The only one I had around was this green wide bias tape, but since it wasn’t going to show the color didn’t matter too much.

See, I used single folded bias tape so the green is only on the inside.  The real issue was the width.  A thinner bias tape is more preferable because it curves better and lies flatter when finished.

All that was left to do was to trim the neckline with this beautiful crocheted lace.  You may have noticed it is the same lace I used for a recent skirt (see Vintage Floral - Pretty Dress to High Waisted Skirt).  It goes great with the plaid as well.

And here’s the finished dress, shown with a long sleeved blouse.  It’s pretty nice, though I think I messed up a little cutting one of the arm holes.  And I think it would look better worn with a collared blouse.

Since I did remove the sleeves, I naturally had leftover fabric.  What can you always make with leftovers?

Doll clothes! 

I whipped up this cute pleated plaid skirt for one of my dolls (check the doll blog for more about it).

It is cut on the bias so it slips on and off easily.  As always, I am tempted to make a similar skirt for myself.  Maybe someday.

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink eyelet
• Sunflower dress
• Denim skirt
• Velvet dress
• Blue plaid
• High-waist

Six down and out.  Finally finished this list, it only took me a couple of months.  What’s next?  You shall see soon, look forward to it.

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Blue and Ruffly, A Skirt Makeover

The last project on my list was a dress turned skirt, but the next one is skirt to skirt.

I got this skirt ages ago at a thrift store.  It was long, ruffly and pretty, but not quite right for me.  The long waist section was a little unflattering as was the length.  It basically made me look short and hipless.  I thought it would look cuter on me if it was shorter.

First I chopped off the waistband and added a new elastic one with white cotton.  Stretchy = Comfy.

To make it extra pretty, I added white lace along the bottom ruffle.

I made little ribbon bow too. :)

The end result is a cute and fluffy ruffly skirt.

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink eyelet
• Sunflower dress
• Denim skirt
• Velvet dress
• Blue plaid
• High-waist

Three down, three more to go.  The next one should be up this weekend.  Look forward to it!

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Vintage Floral – Pretty Dress to High-Waisted Skirt

After far too long, I finally finished another project on my craft list.  Not exactly the one I had plan to finish next either.  That one hit a few snags, but I will finish it eventually.

Anyway, this is a dress I made ages ago using a vintage pattern I found at Goodwill (see Knifty Does It and Working with Vintage). 

I love the high waist and the corset style lacing on the back, but the top isn’t as pretty as it could be.  Plus, being a dress, it can only be worn so many ways.  So why not turn it into a high-waisted skirt?  Being able to swap out the top would make it incredibly more versatile.

First I carefully separated the top of the dress from the skirt.  I shortened the zipper too naturally.

I had to replace the interfacing and facing on the waist.  I couldn’t find the original pattern I used for this part, so I had to use the skirt itself as a guide for cutting the pieces.  It’s not perfect, but since it’s on the inside where it won’t be seen it’s good enough for me.

Then came the fun part, adding new lace.  I found this beautiful crocheted lace at SAS a while ago that I knew would be perfect for a skirt.  I used it along the top of the waistband and along the bottom hem. 

And now it’s done!  I now have a beautiful and versatile high waisted skirt.

And what about the top of the dress?  I thought would make a cute little shrug. 

I first took it in a little.

I cut the opening in a curve shape to make it cuter and more flattering.

I thought the sleeves were too bulky, so I cut them at an angle to shorten them and used a zig-zag stitch along the edge of the fabric.

I did the same to all the cut edges.  I set the stitches to the smallest setting to make it looks nicer.  A serger would probably be great for this, but since I don’t own one (yet) this is okay.

After adding elastic to the sleeves, it looks almost cute enough to wear.  Almost.

Now after adding a lace ruffle, more lace trim, a snap and a bow, it is ready to wear. 

One pretty dress, morphed into a pretty skirt and a pretty shrug that can make even more outfits.  That’s a job well done. :)

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink eyelet
• Sunflower dress
• Denim skirt
• Velvet dress
• Blue plaid
• High-waist

Two down, four more to go.  The next one will definitely be done in a couple of days.  Look forward to it.

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Pretty and Pink - From Dress to Cute Skirt and More

At long last, the first of my reconstruction projects is completed.  I took an old, yet cute dress and turned it into a new and still cute skirt, and more.

I bought this dress at Goodwill a while ago, only paid $1.50.  Not bad right?  I loved the pink eyelet fabric used, but I found the top of the dress wasn’t very flattering on me.  High waist and low neckline requires more of a bust then I’ve been blest with.

So I thought, why not turn it into a skirt.

First, I measured from the bottom and cut the skirt from the dress at the length I wanted.  I pinned it at the top to hold the skirt and the lining together.

I then carefully separated the shirred section (the stretchy part) from the rest of the dress.  I will use it as the waistband for my new skirt.

Here is the skirt carefully pinned to the “waistband”.  Just need to sew it with a zig-zag stitch and then…

…I have a cute new skirt.

To make it that much cuter, I added some thin lace to the bottom of the ruffle.

And I cut one of the old straps to make a small bow for the front of the skirt.  Mainly so I can tell which side is the front.

Now what did I do with the rest of the dress?  I made doll clothes.

I thought that if I separated the triangle sections on the top of the dress, then I could whip up a couple of halter tops for the dolls.

Actually with Sakura here, I could whip up a halter dress.

Just add some ribbon, fold the top point over it and sew it down…

Then wrap it around the doll and add some Velcro or snaps.  Easy enough right?

But for this small doll,  I decided to cut the halter part at her waist and add a fuller skirt.  Plenty of scraps for that.

As for my larger dolls, I notice that the back of the original dress had some decent elastic.

And if I cute sections of it like this, they would make easy skirts.  Just need to add a ruffle to make them long enough.  That was the idea, but I made some mistakes with cutting.  I still ended up using the same elastic for the waistbands.

The results is a halter top and two skirts for my larger ball jointed dolls, and a cute halter dress for my smaller one.

And cute is indeed the word for this adorable dress.

The halter top and mini skirt looks very cute on Usagi here.

I used the same lace on my skirt for the bottom of all the doll clothes.

And there’s a slightly longer skirt for Hikaru too.  You can see more photos of the clothes on the doll blog.

A new skirt and four pieces of doll clothes from a single unworn dress.  Not too shabby. 

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink eyelet
• Sunflower dress
• Denim skirt
• Velvet dress
• Blue plaid
• High-waist

One down, five more to go.

And here’s a sneak peak at the next project on my list.  What will it become, you shall find out soon.  Look forward to it.

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5 a Week: Cute Doll Mini-Skirts

 

It’s Sunday, and time for week 3 of this year’s edition of…

 

…The Five a Week Pledge.

If you haven’t been around here, it’s where you pledge to do five things each week of your choice (see here for more info).  I pledged to make five small crafts each week.  Feel free to grab a button and join me.  If you already have, post a comment or a link to share what you accomplished.

This week’s craft:

Doll Skirts!

I made five doll sized mini-skirts for my ball jointed dolls using fabric scraps and lace. 

Two off-white ones (with fabric from this dress), a red violet floral one (with fabric from these dresses), a pink one (like this doll dress), and a different one with some red star printed fabric (used for this dress). 

The first four skirts were supposed to be longer ruffled skirts. I started out making them with this tutorial. 

The tutorial was meant for 18inch dolls (i.e.. American Girl size), but you make the pattern yourself based on your own measurements.  It just called for waist and length, but there is something I overlooked.  American Girl dolls have very straight childlike cloth bodies, my dolls are resin and a little more curvy.

So instead of going by the waist measurement I should have used the hip measurement.  I ended up with skirts that were too small to go over their hips.   So I changed things around, turned the top part into a high waistband, added snaps, and now they are cute doll mini-skirts. 

The red one is the only one I didn’t have trouble with because it was different.  The scrap of red fabric was just large enough to make a simple skirt with an elastic waistband.  Sometimes simple is better.

The other skirts did come out adorably, this off-white one is my favorite so I made two.  One for each doll.

It was fun making them for my doll, Usagi, and even more fun taking pictures of her in them.  You can see more of them here on my doll blog.

Now what’s to come up next week?  More doll clothes?  Maybe a tutorial too?  We shall see.  Look forward to it.

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